Why a butt sleeve?

spliced

spliced

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Who ever came up with the idea for a butt sleeve? With all the players I see around me gripping the cue beyond the wrap area most of the time, why dont wraps extend all the way to the buttcap? I see strickland already figured it out:eek: .

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My next hoppe cue may look something like the bottom pic.

hoppebutts2.jpg
 
I do a couple cues a year with little buttsleeve legenth. IMO the cue does not balance well if you are gripping it at the butt plate. I would suggest a longer cue. Chris.
 
I imagine that the butt sleeve came about when cues were first wrapped to give the illusion that the butt sleeve and the points were the same piece of wood.

Next we come to the wrap itself. The wrap is not necessarily the correct place to hold the cue but it is always there to cover up that ugly piece of wood that is used to properly balance the cue. We use good wood but it is hot always pretty in this area.

I had my first jump break cue wrapped all the way to the butt cap many years ago and it worked fine for me - it is just not very pretty.

Most cuemakers reserve the butt sleeve area for decoration; inlays and rings.

I have seen one cue that was wrapped all the way from the joint, through the forearm and down to the butt cap. That saves having to finish the cue and it sure is a lot easier to wrap a cue than finish it properly. I don't think I would build one like that but as far as function it was OK.

Good Cuemaking,
 
I think the puropse for linen wrap is for player using slip stroke technique. I may be wrong.

If that is true, average height or shorter player may not benefit the idea of long wrap that covers the butt sleeve.
 
icem3n said:
I think the puropse for linen wrap is for player using slip stroke technique. I may be wrong.

If that is true, average height or shorter player may not benefit the idea of long wrap that covers the butt sleeve.
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I believe at first, it was used to hide the ugly wood in the handle area.
 
Not to change the subject, but if you notice Earl Stickland's wraps, they are actually over-wraps. He's probably using them to increase the diameter of the butt and absorb moisture. Interestingly, if you look at the front cue, the dirtiest part of the wrap (arguably the part he uses the most) is roughly where a "standard" wrap would be.
 
Now back to the subject. I think I recall seeing a cue with two wraps. It might have been Yak Cues? the first one was shorter than a standard wrap - - maybe about 9 inches, leaving a longer butt sleeve. The second one was probably about 6-7 inches and was almost at the tail end of the cue. Arguably, the top wrap was where your hand should be for normal shooting and the bottom wrap for breaking. If my memory is correct, each cue would be different depending on the stature of the player and shooting style.
 
Alan said:
Now back to the subject. I think I recall seeing a cue with two wraps. It might have been Yak Cues? the first one was shorter than a standard wrap - - maybe about 9 inches, leaving a longer butt sleeve. The second one was probably about 6-7 inches and was almost at the tail end of the cue. Arguably, the top wrap was where your hand should be for normal shooting and the bottom wrap for breaking. If my memory is correct, each cue would be different depending on the stature of the player and shooting style.
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I have seen some like this that were Jump breaks.
 
fullsplicefiend said:
Who ever came up with the idea for a butt sleeve? With all the players I see around me gripping the cue beyond the wrap area most of the time, why dont wraps extend all the way to the buttcap? I see strickland already figured it out:eek: .

6.jpg


My next hoppe cue may look something like the bottom pic.

hoppebutts2.jpg
Click to expand...
Blud made a line of cues like that.
 
fullsplicefiend said:
Who ever came up with the idea for a butt sleeve? With all the players I see around me gripping the cue beyond the wrap area most of the time, why dont wraps extend all the way to the buttcap?
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Don't quit your day job... to become a statistician.

You try to make it sound like holding the cue that far back is typical.
That is not at all accurate.

The percentage of players who regularly grip the cue behind the wrap
on normal shots might be 1%.

For the slip stroke theory.

Once more with feeling:
Originally, Irish Linen was used because it gave a better grip.
Prior to the 1970s, in most cases, linen was just wound onto the butt.
No pressing/filling/polishing etc, no smoothing at all.

Also, the old Cortland and other linen from that era was much
softer than the thread we use today.

Dale
 
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Dale,

Your quite the statistician yourself. I'm 5'10 with a 75" wingspan. Im guessing thats pretty average. When I take a normal stance with my normal bridge (8-9"), I grip the cue 2-3" from the bottom of the buttcap, which puts my hand right between the buttsleeve and wrap. This gives me that near 90 degree angle from my forearm to my cue. If I want to use a longer bridge, my back hand must be on the very back of the cue in order to maintain that 90 degree stance.

So if a person is taller than me (which is quite often) and has a longer wingspan, then they will have their back hand behind the wrap on the very back end of the cue for almost every shot.

Plenty of the pros grip their cue near the back as well...

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Delicious2.jpg
 
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About the only time I run the wrap all the way to the butt sleeve is on Break cues. But I do build short butt sleeves occasionally. Here is a recent example of a half length butt sleeve.
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fullsplicefiend said:
Dale,

Your quite the statistician yourself. I'm 5'10 with a 75" wingspan. Im guessing thats pretty average. When I take a normal stance with my normal bridge (8-9"), I grip the cue 2-3" from the bottom of the buttcap, which puts my hand right between the buttsleeve and wrap. This gives me that near 90 degree angle from my forearm to my cue. If I want to use a longer bridge, my back hand must be on the very back of the cue in order to maintain that 90 degree stance.

So if a person is taller than me (which is quite often) and has a longer wingspan, then they will have their back hand behind the wrap on the very back end of the cue for almost every shot.

Plenty of the pros grip their cue near the back as well...
Click to expand...

And this is relevant how?

Are you under the impression that you are anything close to
typical? Sell your camera and use the money for gas to go to
a few hundred pool rooms and observe 10,000 players at random.

I've been wasting time in pool rooms for longer than
you have been alive - and sweating pro players since the 70s.
I stay with my original estimate.

You asked 'Why a butt sleve' and were told -was that
a Dr Phil question?

Dale<old fogey - young heart>
 
pdcue said:
For the slip stroke theory.

Once more with feeling:
Originally, Irish Linen was used because it gave a better grip.
Prior to the 1970s, in most cases, linen was just wound onto the butt.
No pressing/filling/polishing etc, no smoothing at all.

Also, the old Cortland and other linen from that era was much
softer than the thread we use today.

Dale
Click to expand...

Nice to know that.

I always thought wrapless cue provides more grip.
 
JoeyInCali said:
Wouldn't a 60" work you?
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I dont feel that my cue is too short, just that there is no need for a buttsleeve.

Plus I always hear people complaining that 60" cues are often awkwardly balanced. And people like Joe Gold will only build 57" cues for some reason like there is some cosmic truth that shorter cues play better.
 
extending the wrap back

I know several players who have have extended their wraps 2 or 3 inches back.

No matter how the wrap originated, depending on the player it could distract someone when shooting a longer shot. Which is why they extend it back.

There is always the infinite debate on cosmetics vs functionality. And all in all it's based on personal preference. Their is no gold rule.

Personally I prefer to play with a wrapless cue for that reason. * I don't have a slip stroke*
 
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